


Transformation

by TakingOverMidnight3482



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galra Keith, they bonded okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 12:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7715248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakingOverMidnight3482/pseuds/TakingOverMidnight3482
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Transformation: a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance. I think purple hair and fangs count.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Transformation

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. Let's see how posting here for the first time goes.

It had just been a joke, that’s all. A teasing little jab at the extra hair that Keith hadn’t bothered to shave off, the fact that it looked like he had dyed it lavender of all things. 

“What,” Lance had taunted, pointing his spoon at his teammate, “are you trying to cosplay as an Oompa Loompa?”

While Shiro and Hunk tried to explain to Coran that, no, an Oompa Loompa was not some kind of earth enemy, Keith dropped his spoon into his space goo and shoved his chair back so harshly that it hit the floor, the clatter ringing around the suddenly silent room. 

Keith didn’t even respond to the joke, merely turned on his heel and bolted from the room as fast as he could without it looking like he was running. A pang of guilt stabbed Lance in the chest and he set his spoon down, his appetite gone. 

“It…I was just joking,” he informed the others softly. “I didn’t mean to make him upset. What’s even his problem, anyway? I was just saying he should shave.”

“You told him he looked like an Oompa Loompa,” Pidge reminded him, pushing her glasses up her nose and stabbing her goo with her spoon. “That’s not exactly a compliment, Lance.”

“I think you should go apologize,” Shiro said from across the table. “Sometimes your jokes can sting a little, Lance.”

The blue paladin slumped and rubbed a hand over his jaw, standing slowly and turning to leave the room, his footsteps echoing down the corridor. 

“Just…say you’re sorry, that you meant it as a joke, and then ask if he wants to come back to breakfast,” Lance muttered under his breath, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Easy enough.”

Right. Except this was Keith he was talking about, and Keith hated his guts. No way he was going to accept a meager apology, especially seeing how upset he had gotten over the one jab. 

Lance sighed and rocked on his heels for a moment in front of Keith’s door, hand poised to knock. “Keith?” he called softly, letting his knuckles tap on the door a few times. “It’s Lance. Can I uh…can I come in?”

There was no answer, and Lance sighed, leaning his head on the door and shutting his eyes. “Look, I know you’re probably pissed at me, but I just came by to apologize for what I said back at the table. It…was meaner than I meant for it to be. So I’m sorry.”

Still there was no response, and Lance huffed, tapping on the door once more with a finger. “Keith? Come on, the least you could do is-”

A low growl rose from inside and Lance froze, body going rigid as the sound of gasping came from the bedroom. “Keith? You okay?”

He pressed an ear to the door, hoping to whatever god aliens believed in that Keith wasn’t having some “personal time,” and frowned, his eyebrows scrunching together. “Keith?”

The tiny whimper that rang through the door and into his ears was one of pain and not of pleasure, and Lance had his gun in his hand in an instant, backing up and kicking at the door, nearly breaking his foot in the process. He cursed loudly and tried again, aiming closer to the doorknob, and the door flew open, slamming against the wall behind it and almost swinging shut again before Lance caught it. 

“Keith?” he called out, gun at the ready and his eyes scanning the room warily. “Where are you?”

There was silence for a moment and then a soft yelp came from the other side of the bed and Lance was moving, practically falling on his face as he slid to a halt on the marble flooring, gun pointed. 

Keith was bent over on the floor at the hips, his head ducked and his arms wrapped tightly around his trembling form and, when Lance could see that he wasn’t being attacked, he put away his gun and knelt on the floor quickly, holding out a hand. 

“Keith? What’s wrong? Do you need aspirin or something?”

“Go away,” Keith choked out, his voice more guttural than usual.

Lance frowned, a little irked, and sat back on his heels. “Hell no. You look like your insides are literally being ripped apart. Do I need to get Coran?”

“No!”

Keith whipped his head up and Lance almost screamed, backpedaling on the floor until his shoulders hit the wall with a thump, his hands shaking and his throat dry. 

“You…you’re…you…”

He couldn’t seem to form the sentence with either his mind or his words, his brain struggling to process what he was seeing. 

Keith looked fairly normal; the usual tacky thrift clothing, same messy hair, limber form. But his eyes were glowing a neon yellow and fangs were slowly pushing their way out of his mouth, the hair already on him turning purple and more growing even as Lance watched. Soft ears, almost cat like in appearance, protruded from his head, flattened against his hair and covered in fur.

The boys remained silent for a moment, studying each other nervously. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on Keith’s nightstand, until the paladin suddenly shuddered and groaned, doubling over once more and clinging to his stomach. 

Lance hesitated for a moment and then scooted back over to Keith on his butt, swinging around so that he was sitting next to him and resting a shaking hand on his back. “You’re good,” he murmured, staring at the floor and trying to process what was going on. “You’re okay.”

Keith hiccuped and nodded and Lance grimaced as the muscles under his fingers shifted ever so slightly, giving Keith a somewhat bulkier appearance in his shoulders. 

When the pain seemed to have subsided a little, Lance spoke again, his voice soft. “You’re…what, a Galra? How-?”

“Half,” Keith managed, curling and uncurling his fingers in his lap, sharp claws glinting in the lamp light. “Half Galra.”

Lance hummed in the back of his throat and swallowed, subconsciously rubbing circles over Keith’s back. “Right. I don’t even want to know which parent was which. Why didn’t you say something?”

Keith laughed bitterly and gave Lance a sideways look, yellow eyes mildly alarming. “Did you see the look on your face? Imagine what Allura and Coran would do if they found out one of their chosen paladins was basically half of their mortal enemy.”

Lance started to protest, mouth falling shut when he realized that Keith had a point. “Still,” he murmured, running a hand over his head. “You could have told one of us. Everyone on this ship has secrets. Frankly I have no idea how you managed to keep this from us for this long.”

Keith gave him a humorless smile and Lance had to struggle to not flinch away from the fangs. “Practice. Look, Lance, I know you’re not comfortable with this, so just go ahead and-”

Whatever he had been going to say was cut off by another yelp, this one actually bringing Keith to lean forwards on his hands and knees and retch towards the floor like he was about to puke. Lance instantly got up on his knees and settled his hands back onto Keith’s shoulder blades, massaging them lightly and struggling to stay calm. 

“Not a chance, man,” Lance snapped. “I’m not leaving you like this, no matter how weirded out I am.”

Keith heaved again, and Lance thought for sure he was going to have to grab a mop. Instead, though, Keith shuddered and collapsed onto the floor, arms just barely keeping his head from smacking into the ground. 

Lance scrambled around his friend and gently turned him over, pulling his head into his lap and crossing his legs under him. “Keith?”

Keith groaned and drew his hands up to his chest, claws scrabbling at his shirt. Lance hesitated and then reached down, gently scratching at Keith’s chest and grinning when Keith stopped trying to claw his body apart, relaxing a little in Lance’s grip. 

He stayed like that a while, leaning his head back on Keith’s bed and scratching Keith’s chest absentmindedly, wondering vaguely if this meant the paladin had fleas or something.   
Eventually he dozed off, fingers falling limp against Keith’s body and neck supported by the bedspread. They only woke up when, about an hour later, Hunk started walking up the hallway calling both of their names. 

Keith scrambled awake, jolting to find his head nestled in Lance’s lap, and the two boys were off the floor in a heartbeat, Lance babbling. 

“Sorry, sorry, okay, I’ll stall, and you- whoa.”

He froze as he looked up at Keith, finding that the Galra look had vanished entirely and he was back to normal. Keith’s hand shot to his face and he sighed in relief just as Hunk poked his head in, relaxing when he spotted them. 

“Oh good. We thought you killed each other,” he joked. “You guys coming to train?”

“Be there in a minute,” Lance told him, rubbing his hair briskly to get rid of the squashed down part that was courtesy of Keith’s bed. 

Hunk gave them a thumbs up and vanished, and Lance turned back to Keith slowly, head tilting. “That wasn’t some goop induced hallucination?” he confirmed softly, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

Keith grimaced and shook his head, pulling on his fingerless gloves in preparation for hand to hand combat training. “No. Lance, I-”

“I’m not going to say anything, man.”

Keith whipped his head up and stared at Lance for a moment in disbelief. “You’re not?”

Lance shrugged and nodded his head towards the door, walking alongside Keith out of the room. “No. It’s…kind of like Pidge and telling us she was a girl. You have to do that on your own time. Me outing you to everyone could end really badly.”

He paused and looked over at Keith, eyebrows raised. “And if you need help or anything…I mean, I know you aren’t all that fond of me but…”

“Lance. Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“One condition though.”

“I’m not eating your enemies for you.”

“Come on!”


End file.
